“My first reaction was unbelievable. I’d never won anything like that,” he said. “I knew if I did, it was going to be for the benefit of the race track.”

Rasmussen had been feeling down after losing in the first round of eliminations. That was until he was able to share the good news.

“I was in Sportsman class, the last pair up the track. I was late and the car wouldn’t run the number,” Rasmussen said. “I was thinking, ‘Why in the world did I come here?’ I came to this to find out he won that. As soon as I lost, I hear Doug (Foley Jr.) say, ‘We’re getting ready to draw for the truck.’ I’m at the tool box and I hear him say, ‘I know this guy. He’s painting bleachers.’ As soon as he said that, I knew it was Mike Walters.”

Walters didn’t end up with the F-150 crew cab truck. Instead, he decided to take a cash option which ended up benefitting the track in a number of ways.

“It put us in a position to help our race track do some serious improvements,” he said. “We got our short-term loans paid off and we’re getting a new timing system.”

Elk Creek Dragway is special to Walters and those who race there. It sits between two beautiful mountain ranges in the Elk Creek Valley. 

They have paved roads throughout the facility with well-groomed grass for trailer parking. They make it family-friendly as it includes a playground, picnic tables with umbrellas and multiple bleachers to watch the different aspects of racing. There is emphasis, particularly on the restrooms and concession areas, to be clean and well maintained.

“It’s the track designed with your family in mind,” Walters said. “Many, many racers have told me, this is their happy place. It’s crazy to hear that from a racer, but we want them to feel at home at Elk Creek Dragway.”

It has paid off with record car counts in 2024 and others who share Walters’ passion. When Hurricane Helene flooded the track, Rasmussen and his boys worked both a Friday and Saturday to help fix it.

The track has one of the strongest bracket racing programs around with races every weekend. In addition, they work with racers to make the facility frequently available for test-and-tune sessions. 

Elk Creek Dragway repeated as IHRA Division 1 (Patriots) Summit Team Finals champions in 2024. Rasmussen was the winner in the Sportsman class and Caleb Hamm won the Motorcycle race. Mike Willard was the Mod winner and his son, Will, was tops in Junior Dragster. Will went on to finish runner-up at the IHRA Summit SuperSeries World Finals.

Walters credits that busy schedule for being a reason why Elk Creek racers have so much success at other drag strips. He’s humble when it comes to his own role, but one can hear in his voice how much he cares for the racers and the track.

“Taking care of the racers is the number one goal across the board,” Walters said. “I’m here living my life, having fun and trying to pay it forward. You take care of your customers and everything else takes care of itself.”

Now, he has the extra resources to take care of the racers as do the other IHRA partner tracks who were able to raise money through the IHRA truck giveaway. Special thanks to Morrow Brothers Ford and all those who participated to help the IHRA partner tracks.